Anyone familiar with Japanese SF in the English-speaking world has heard of Gene van Troyer. He first moved to Japan as an exchange student in the 1970s, and soon became a major part of the SF scene there, working as a translation consultant for many top Japanese SF writers, and as a reviewer for SF Magazine where he covered the English-language beat.

With Grania Davis, van Troyer edited Speculative Japan: Outstanding Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy, an impressive anthology of short Japanese SF in English. A second volume has been announced for 2010.

When Haikasoru was announced, he and Grania both expressed great enthusiasm for the project. We had heard of his health issues, but were surprised and saddened to hear of his death by cancer yesterday. We’d like to extend our condolences to wife Tomoko, his sons Makato and Akito, his daughter Miika, and to all his friends and readers.